BALTIMORE, MD - Setter Jackie Skibbie (Sr., Darby, PA/Merion Mercy) recorded 44 assists and a service ace as the #4 seed Franklin & Marshall College volleyball team stunned #1 seed Johns Hopkins University 3-1 in the semifinals of the 2005 Centennial Conference Championships at Larry Goldfarb Gymnasium.

With the win the Diplomats will face #2 seed Gettysburg College in the conference title match at Johns Hopkins at 1:00 p.m. on November 5. Gettysburg swept #3 seed Haverford 3-0 (30-14, 30-16, 30-26) in just over an hour in the other semifinal match.

The tournament's champion will earn the Centennial Conference's automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Division III tournament, with the regional round hosted at #2 nationally ranked Juniata College on November 10-12.

Against Hopkins, the Diplomats rolled through game one recording a 30-17 win before edging the Blue Jays 30-28 in game two to get to the brink of closing out the match in a 3-0 sweep.

However, Hopkins fought back to take game three 30-26 and extend the match to a fourth game.

The Blue Jays built an early lead in the fourth game before extending the margin to 24-13 with an 11-3 run. The Diplomats quickly rallied closing the gap to 26-19 before scoring nine unanswered points to take a 28-26 lead before dispatching Hopkins 30-27.

Outside hitter Margot Phelan (Fr., Ellicott City, MD/Centennial) recorded 20 kills and 11 digs, while middle hitter Susan Taylor (So., The Woodlands, TX/John Cooper) knocked down 18 kills and recorded four blocks in the winning effort.

Nicole Kushman (Jr., Chalfont, PA/CB West) tacked on five kills, two service aces and 14 digs, while libero Meghan Godorov (Sr., Orefield, PA/Parkland) added 27 digs and two service aces.

A key to the match was the play of Jenna Walck (So., Perkasie, PA/Pennridge) who dominated Hopkins on the serve recording six aces while adding nine digs.

Katie O'Callaghan and Jen Hajj each had 16 kills to lead the Blue Jays. O'Callaghan added 15 digs and Amanda Lewis posted 48 assists and 11 digs as the Blue Jays.

Historically, the F&M-Hopkins match up marked the third straight year the two programs clashed in the semifinals as the then #3 seed Blue Jays upset Franklin & Marshall 3-2 (30-21, 30-23, 27-30, 23-30, 15-13) in the 2004 Centennial Conference semifinals hosted by Gettysburg College before falling to the Bullets in the title match.

The loss marked the second straight season Hopkins knocked F&M out of the CC playoffs as the Blue Jays upended F&M 3-2 (30-19, 23-30, 30-26, 26-30, 15-6) in the opening round of the 2003 Centennial Conference playoffs also hosted by Gettysburg before falling to the Bullets in the title match.

In 2002, the Diplomats downed Hopkins 3-1 (23-30, 30-25, 30-19, 30-22) at Gettysburg in the semifinals before falling to the Bullets 3-2 (30-25, 27-30, 30-26, 27-30, 19-17) in the title match.

The last time Franklin & Marshall and Johns Hopkins met at a partisan site for a CC playoff match came on November 4, 2000 as the Diplomats defeated the Blue Jays 3-1 (8-15, 15-5, 15-10, 15-5) at the Mayser Center behind 41 assists, six kills, eight digs and two blocks from setter Mary Kate Boland '01 to win the Centennial Conference title.

In the other semifinal match, Gettysburg cruised in the first two games, blasting away at a .522 attack rate to take game one 30-14.

Gettysburg picked up a quick win in game two, 30-16, before Haverford forced a close game three. The Fords narrowed the gap to 24-23 in the third, before Gettysburg concluded the match on a 6-3 run, winning 30-26.

Leading the way offensively for the Bullets was Meghan McConville, who turned in a match-high 13 kills. Setter Shannan Smith added 28 assists to go along with six kills and five digs.

Heidi Jutsum led Haverford with eight kills, while Samantha Thomson recorded 14 digs in the effort.

Franklin & Marshall is seeking its fifth CC title and seventh berth in the NCAA tournament. The Diplomats claimed the conference crown in 1993, 1994, 1999 and 2000, and earned NCAA bids in 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000.

The Bullets are seeking their eleventh CC crown and fifth straight title as Gettysburg is the only team other than Franklin & Marshall to have won a conference title.

In the only meeting of the year between the Diplomats and Bullets, Skibbie recorded 60 assists, nine kills, 25 digs, one block assist and one service ace to lead the Franklin & Marshall College women's volleyball team to a 3-2 (30-32, 30-24, 30-23, 21-30, 15-13) victory over Gettysburg College at home in Centennial Conference action at the Mayser Center on October 4.

Phelan added 23 kills and 17 assists, while Kushman contributed 10 kills, 14 digs and two block assists to key the Diplomats.

Taylor also reached double digits as she tallied 15 kills, five solo blocks and four block assists. Walck led the team's defensive effort with 11 digs and two service aces as Franklin & Marshall defeated Gettysburg for the first time since 2000.

For Gettysburg, Katie Heffner notched 24 kills, Shannan Smith handed out 60 assists, Hillary Prutzman added 12 kills and Margaret Hallahan tallied 25 digs and five service aces to lead the Bullets' attack.

The victory snapped a five-match losing streak against Gettysburg that dated back to a 3-1 win (15-11, 15-5, 10-15, 15-5) victory in the 2000 season. Historically, Gettysburg had won 14 of the previous 16 meetings between the two programs, as F&M is now 10-31 all-time against Gettysburg.

Admission is free to the tournament and directions to Johns Hopkins University are available online at www.centennial.org/championships/volleyball/